I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 200

Having suffered a defeat in Greece that was more than just a defeat, Turkey eventually proposed an agreement that was written as a truce but was essentially a surrender.

Almost simultaneously with Britain and France accepting the proposal, I arrived in Greece.

In fact, it’s rare these days for a Prime Minister to personally handle the aftermath of a war.

Frankly, I was getting tired of traveling back and forth on ships.

I knew very well that sending Talleyrand alone would have been sufficient.

But the reason I insisted on coming myself was closer to a showy performance.

Why, even Britain had Pitt come in person.

It was a chance to crush the Ottomans, establish prestige as the strongest power in Europe, and flaunt the generosity of liberating the persecuted Greeks.

It was an action reeking of ulterior motives, but the reaction from the Greeks was explosive.

As soon as we entered Athens, where the talks with the Ottomans were to be held, French and British flags fluttered everywhere, welcoming us.

It wasn’t particularly surprising.

Even if they were once haughty and arrogant, Britain and France are now saviors to Greece.

The shock of having their long-cherished 400-year desire fulfilled in just a few months also played a part.

“Wow! Long live France!”

“Guardians of freedom and civilization!”

“Prime Minister Christian! Please take care of Greece!”

The enthusiastic cheers weren’t limited to our side.

Similar crowds gathered to cheer on the British troops marching proudly through the city.

“Prime Minister Pitt! Please look this way just once!”

“Will the Anglo-French allied forces continue to protect Greece in the future?”

“Thank you for turning all those Ottoman bastards into shark bait!”

The population of Athens at this time, which had been stagnant under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, was only about 2,000.

But the streets were clearly teeming with far more people than that.

Could it be that they flocked from neighboring cities just to see my face and Pitt’s?

How happy must they be about independence to come all the way here to thank the Prime Ministers of other countries?

Since it’s come to this, should I provide some fan service and manage public opinion?

I slowed down the pace and waved to the citizens, and the already explosive atmosphere soared through the atmosphere and into the sky.

Thus, I spent about an hour longer than planned mingling with the citizens of Athens before heading to the meeting place just in time.

The venue for the talks was the Parthenon, a landmark of Athens and a symbol of Greek civilization.

As a temple dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, it had maintained a semblance of its original form until the Byzantine era.

It was somehow managed as it changed from a temple to a church, and from a church to a mosque, each time the ruling country changed… but everything fell apart after the Ottomans used the temple as a gunpowder depot.

As a result, the Parthenon as I saw it wasn’t that different from how it looks in modern times.

Still, the difference might be that at least some artifacts remained, as the British hadn’t taken all the intact statues yet.

“To treat such a historic place so carelessly…”

Pitt, who was sitting next to me, muttered in an angry voice loud enough for everyone else to hear.

On the surface, he looked every bit the intellectual who loved Greek culture.

Of course, I only chuckled, as I roughly guessed why he was acting like that.

He’s building up to something quite diligently.

“I didn’t realize Prime Minister Pitt was so fond of Greek culture.”

“It’s not just because it’s Greek culture. Isn’t this temple the most representative building of Greece, the starting point of European civilization? To have neglected this means that there was a clear intention to disregard all of Europe.”

“That’s a valid interpretation.”

Carefully suppressing a laugh, I looked at the Turkish delegation sitting on the opposite side.

Abdul Kadir, who came as the representative of Turkey, was sweating profusely at Pitt’s offensive, which had started even before the talks began.

“No, even so, it’s too much of a stretch to say that we damaged the Parthenon to disregard the entire European culture.”

“Then why did you leave the Parthenon in this state? You must have known the historical significance of this building.”

“Well, the situation at the time was a bit delicate… but we didn’t specifically disregard European countries.”

“Well, if you say so, I’ll believe you for now.”

Pitt nodded readily, judging that he had sufficiently seized the initiative.

I had my own plans, but Britain is so enthusiastic that I have nothing to say.

Since there’s nothing to lose anyway, it’s okay to watch for the time being.

It’s even more thrilling to be able to watch Britain’s nasty temper up close.

“Then let’s get down to business. First of all, the responsibility for this war lies entirely with the Ottomans. Do you admit that?”

“No, even so, isn’t that too much of a stretch?”

“A stretch? Wasn’t it the Ottomans who directly violated the Paris Agreement? Past history proves how much the Greeks want independence. It was the Ottomans who suppressed that.”

“That’s also a far-fetched argument. The Ottomans were virtually guaranteeing autonomy to Greece. With this alone, we can say that we did the minimum. But what about Britain? Frankly, didn’t Britain provide the pretext for this war?”

That’s true.

Anyone could see that it was Britain’s senseless provocation that started this war.

But there’s no way the British Empire and Pitt wouldn’t have prepared a rebuttal to this textbook logic.

As expected, Pitt looked at Abdul Kadir with a look that said, “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t understand what pretext we provided.”

“Didn’t you unilaterally withdraw your embassy! And for ridiculous reasons. If you weren’t already preparing for war, you wouldn’t have withdrawn your embassy for such ridiculous reasons.”

“It’s not a ridiculous reason. It was a very legitimate and reasonable reason. The Earl of Elgin, who was the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, is still suffering from malnutrition due to the poor diet provided by your country. Rather, we should be demanding compensation.”

“No, what nonsense…”

“So much so that the Earl of Elgin is currently suffering from kebab phobia. He trembles at the sight of anything resembling a kebab, and I feel sorry for him.”

Could there be another person in this world who can say such nonsense so seriously?

I can only feel sorry for the Earl of Elgin, who suddenly developed PTSD from eating kebabs.

Of course, the absurdity I felt wouldn’t be even a hundredth of the emotion Abdul Kadir felt.

Instead of refuting Pitt’s obviously forced argument, he turned the question to me.

“Does France share the same position as Britain?”

“Well…”

I’d only side with them if it was reasonable nonsense, but if I affirmed this, it could affect my evaluation in later generations.

In this case, it’s best to give a reserved answer.

“I’ve never eaten that dish called kebab, so I can’t answer. But what’s important now isn’t that. It’s how we’re going to conclude this war. That’s why we’re here.”

“That’s…”

“The conditions France wants are simple. This war wasn’t for the benefit of our country, so we won’t demand excessive reparations. We’ll only add 20% interest to the amount this side spent on the war. Instead, the Ottomans must promise independence to all countries in the Greek region that want independence. The specific borders will be decided in a working-level meeting later.”

Since it’s been broken so badly, the Ottomans can’t refuse Greek independence.

It was a reasonable proposal, but Abdul Kadir couldn’t easily nod his head.

Perhaps it was because of the anxiety that the collapse of the empire might occur in a chain reaction if he accepted this.

Just when I thought I should put more pressure on him, Pitt, who was of one mind with me at this moment, drove in the wedge.

“If you can’t accept even this much demand, we can only interpret that the Ottomans intend to continue the war. And we can’t be held responsible for the consequences.”

“No, it’s not that we intend to continue the war…”

“Then tell us the conditions your country wants. Surely you’re not going to say that you can’t accept Greek independence now?”

The answer was already decided from the beginning.

Pitt tried to shift all the blame for the war to the Ottomans, mentioning kebabs, in order to extract even greater reparations.

But that’s too greedy.

If it were the Middle Ages or the early modern era, it would be barely acceptable, but now it’s almost the beginning of the 19th century.

If you look a little further into the future, you must have at least a minimum of conscience to avoid future problems.

Unlike the Hyeongyeong Empire, which only lives for today, a guy like that might stumble and fall tomorrow.

However, this is all a thought that I can have because I’ve lived in modern times.

Pitt, who came with the intention of completely stripping them bare, hurriedly opened his mouth again, fearing that the talks might end here.

“We have one more request. Of course, it won’t be an additional burden on the Ottomans, so I don’t think it’s a difficult proposal.”

“…Please tell us what you want.”

“Currently, there are many treasures in Greece, including this Parthenon, that have value that cannot be converted into money. But looking at the state of management, it’s utterly miserable. I just judged that leaving it like this would cause irreparable damage to human history. So please transfer the management rights of the cultural assets we designate to us.”

I knew it.

They did a lot in Egypt, and now they’re doing this in Greece.

It was a logic that only brought laughter when you thought about it normally, but the Ottoman side immediately answered without a second thought.

“I understand. That’s not difficult.”

Clearly, since the land of Greece is now Ottoman territory, the ownership of the cultural assets and treasures on this land also belongs to the Ottomans.

However, they are the ones who will withdraw from Greece after the talks are over.

They didn’t care whether Britain took the cultural assets here or not.

Of course, if the Greeks were here, they might have foamed at the mouth and opposed it, but unfortunately, the Greek representatives were not allowed to attend this meeting.

The reason is simple.

Because they didn’t show any activity in the process of independence.

There is no Greek representative at the meeting to discuss the independence of Greece.

Hmm, I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before.

Still, it’s fortunate that they avoided being split into two countries.

It tasted a bit bitter because the sight of Britain getting permission from the Ottomans to take Greek cultural assets didn’t feel like someone else’s business.

“Is France not interested in Greek cultural assets? I know you put a lot of effort into it in Egypt.”

“It’s okay. Strictly speaking, what we brought from Egypt is closer to research data. We’re also planning to clarify the rights later by negotiating with the Egyptian side.”

“That seems too submissive… Well, if that’s your country’s position, we don’t need to say anything.”

Of course, I wouldn’t be happy to return the spoils of war that this side worked so hard to obtain.

This is all a step back for a leap forward.

In fact, Pitt is obsessed with Greece, but to be honest, I don’t care what happens to Greece.

Anyway, this war was a show to legally cleanse all the Mamluks [a military class that held power in Egypt], who are indigenous forces, from Egypt.

The new Egyptian government that will squeeze into this ownerless land must remain a good friend of France.

That way, I can continue to stick a straw in here and suck it up for a long time to come.

To that end, I can gladly share the honey-dripping fruit together.

It was also the best result that Britain won a great victory in this war.

Now Pitt will say that Britain is still a navy and will devote all its efforts to building the next generation of sailing ships as he returns.

Yeah. I sincerely hope you do your best.

As I was thinking about that, I suddenly became curious.

What kind of expression will Pitt make if the sailing ships he worked so hard to produce can’t pass through the canal that will be opened in the future?

So let’s check it out in the future.

Come to think of it, it’s not that far in the future.

End